KBC 3(with srk) : Concept and Articles - Page 6

STAR's big gamble with Shah Rukh

Tuesday December 5, 03:23 AM
Finance News

Hold your breath. ShahRukh Khan will be paid a humungous Rs 70 lakh per episode for the new round of Kaun Banega Crorepati? (KBC) on STAR Plus. That is close to doubling the Rs 40-lakh-per-episode rate paid to Amitabh Bachchan for the previous rounds. ShahRukh Khan must have done the math. The KBC contract with 52 one-hour episodes running from mid-January to April is worth a mouth-watering Rs 36.4 crore.

As a single annual contract, this is possibly the highest a Bollywood screen actor has signed to date. The other big whopper speculated about is the Rs 30 crore deal between Adlabs and Hrithik Roshan for three movies. Who says the small screen does not pay? "It's a supply-demand mismatch," said a senior STAR executive. Who can replace the Big B but a ShahRukh Khan? But then you have to pay what he demands." The Filmy Stock Exchange - Sahara's Filmy channel's online popularity scale of Bollywood actors based on performance of films and the 'buying' of individual actors' stock - puts Shahrukh Khan at the top with his 'stock' worth Rs 314 compared to Hrithik Roshan at Rs 282 and bottom-of-the-table Reitesh Deshmukh at Rs 72.

Shailaja Kejriwal, STAR's head of programming and ad sales, refused to divulge details claiming speculation on ShahRukh Khan's takings ranged between Rs 35 lakh and Rs 2.5 crore an episode. However, senior STAR sources preferring anonymity confirmed that ShahRukh Khan's dotted line indeed read Rs 70 lakh per episode.But from STAR's point of view, what does this hugely expensive reality show mean for the network? If it clicks, will it consolidate STAR Plus' domination over Hindi entertainment television? Or will it turn out to be a money-guzzling Achilles Heel?

STAR's Kejriwal said for a cricket World Cup year, KBC would kick-off in mid-January and end by April before the main cricket matches start. "KBC is crucial for STAR's strategy to retain its lead and consolidate its channel image," she said. "Advertisers are excited. With India not doing well in cricket, they will rework their plans. KBC will be an important element in that," Kejriwal added.

However, media planners pointed out that STAR would need to sell KBC for Rs 11-12 lakh per minute to break even. Add to Shah Rukh's fees of Rs 70 lakh per episode the production costs and licensing fees to format owner Celedor, and the cost of each episode would be well over Rs 1 crore. With just 10 minutes of airtime available for sale per one-hour episode, a rate of Rs 11-12 lakh per minute would be the break-even figure.However, currently the channel's top shows like 'Kyunki Saas and #8230;' sell at Rs 3-4 lakh per 30 seconds. This means Shah Rukh and KBC would have to perform really well to help STAR's ad sales teams to garner higher numbers. If it does not, it could mean a huge loss for the channel.

www.HindustanTimes.com

I am not going anywhere: SRK

Ashima Bajpai
New Delhi, December 5, 2006

At 41, the life of Shahrukh Khan, it seems, has come a full circle. Two decades ago, a young boy from Delhi suddenly became a household name in India when he got noticed in Fauji (1988) and Circus (1989).

At a time, when television spelt only Doordarshan, the two daily serials that starred Shahrukh Khan became a rage. From the small screen to the big screen, he soon shot to the top and has ruled the film industry and the hearts of many for seventeen years.

He's has proved that he is not called King Khan for nothing. Whatever he touches turns to gold. And that quite explains the number of endorsements that he has in his kitty.

After his long innings at the box office, he's back on the small screen with a bang. He is the new host of the next season of Kaun Banega Crorepati on Star Plus.

"I'm not the host but the new 'dost' on KBC," he says as he settles to answer scores of questions and of course, undeniable comparisons with the Big B. "Mr Bachchan is and will always remain an icon. There cannot be his replica. I will follow a certain format of the show and try and add my style to it," he adds.

Will the show see a different side of the superstar? With the status of being the King Khan, does he miss the interaction with the common man?

"I come from a middle class family and there is no denying the fact that through KBC, I will get to meet the people who have given me all that I have today It's the common man who has employed me and now I will get to meet them, chat with them and that is one of the major reasons why I am here," added King Khan looking young as ever with his clean shaven look post Don.

Now that Shahrukh Khan will be anchoring the quiz show, he was all for answers on Monday. With the media quizzing him on every aspect of life, he floored one and all with his witty answers.

So what about his dress code for the show?
"How about a Tarzan style?" pat came the answer. And how did he plan to add his style quotient to the show? "Well, I'll introduce the show as KKKKBC," he joked.

In an answer to a journalists query of whether he considered his journey as the Badshaah is over, think again."Relax, my film career is not over and as far as the Badshaah is concerned, there cannot be another one till the ruling one abdicates! I am not going anywhere. In fact, I am coming right into the drawing rooms of every house.

HT Next

The Million Dollar Wit

SRK is so used to fielding banal questions at press conferences that he manages always to be genuinely funny.

On Sunday, he was sporting a Carrera watch and waxing eloquent about the Monaco 69 special edition created exclusively for 'Don'. The next day, King Khan, promising to be a dost as opposed to a host on KBC3, donned an entirely diferent role, being at his wittiest best as he performed for a gaggle of journalists who behaved more like his diehard fans than like newshounds ready to snap at celebrity heels.

The news outside the conference venue was that the KBC3 shoot will start in January because SRK has 10 to 15 days of shooting left for Chak De India. His immediate priority , therefore, is to re-grow the beard that is mandatory for the role. Star Plus, meanwhile, will creae a style for him as he prepares to step into the shoes of the superstar his 9-year-old son Aryan calls "crorepati uncle".

Never one to miss an opportunity to be politically correct, the Don has this to say about the Original: "I am not replacing Amitji. I will only try to improve on the image of the show that Amitji has created."

The media conference turned out to be a stand-up comedy show as journalist after journalist, a number of them brought in by Star Plus from Chandigarh, Lucknow and Jaipur, drowned him in a sea of banality. A film critic had once asked SRK why he kept repeating the same things to different TV channels and newspapers and the reply he gave them kept coming back at the media conference: "Journalists ask me silly questions so I give them silly answers."

On Monday, King Khan said his new gig was for unborn babies who were in their mothers' womb. "We sing them lullabies, but in KBC3 we'll be quizzing them," said the self-confessed 'Trivial Pursuits' junkie. "This reality TV showwill be for the future generation."

Indeed SRK has sizable shoes to fill in his new avataar. Abhishek Bachchan withstood constant comparisons with his father much after he ceased to be a newcomer. SRK carries the cross today.

"Did you ask your son before anchoring KBC3"? a journalist asked. "Are you planning to join politics?" demanded another. "Are you going to television because you have no work in films?" piped up a Smart Alec. SRK fielded the questions with aplomb at the 45-minute event. And no, he didn't get to use a Lifeline.

"I wouldn't make the participants nervous," he promised. "I'd give them an opportunity to go back home, write the correct answers and mail them to me in five days." He said he was going to brush up his GK by reading up newspapers. he even had an answer for those who were wondering why he was switching over to TV. "I've always wanted to be close to people who love me and who do not love me," he said. For SRK, hyperbole comes naturally. But when he called the show's executive producer Siddharth Basu "the world's greatest quizmaster," it was a heartfelt comment and not a line out of a prepared script.

Source: 'Today' reporter

It's raining crores on SRK

Star Plus is gambling big time with Shah Rukh, who'll be paid Rs.70 lakh per episode for the latest session of KBC. For the first 52 one-hour episodes (out of 104 in all) to be aired from mid-January to April, SRK will earn a cool Rs.36.4 crore. KBC will be crucial for Star's strategy to retain its TRP lead.

But of course, Star must sell ad spots on KBC3 for Rs.11-12 lakh a minute to break even. When 'Kyunki Saas..' (a popular soap) earns Rs 3-4 lakh per 30 seconds, it doesn't seem to be too tall an order. The buzz in Mumbai is that the Big B is royally upset, but his loyalists are busy scotching the rumours.

Source: -Today reporter

SRK's KBC Promo

[Tuesday, December 05, 2006>

Shahrukh 'King' Khan is a man who loves taking risks. That's one reason why he has decided to step into the shoes of 'Shahenshah' Amitabh Bachchan to anchor the next season of the hugely popular game show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' on Star Plus. IndiaGlitz brings this exclusive promo featuring SRK of KBC's new innings starting from January, 2007. New age 'Don's' energy is infectious....So, be the first to check this promo...It's an Exclusive...Specially for you....   

Video:

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/gallery/events/1106 5.html

Awaiting King Khan

By: Shaheen Parkar
December 6, 2006

Contrary to speculation that Ek Ladki Anjaani Si will be yanked off air, Sony has decided to give the daily an extension. Instead, Manish Goswami's Aisa Des Hai Mera will be the one to get the axe from Christmas Day onwards.

Even though the channel maintains that this is a routine programming move, there is more to it than meets the eye. King Khan, the newly-appointed host of Star Plus's Kaun Banega Crorepati 3 has garnered a lot of attention and Sony does not want to introduce a new soap in the same 9 pm slot for obvious reasons: initially, at least, SRK will attract major eyeballs.

Aisa axed

Says a source, "Ever since Kanchi Kaul was replaced by Sai Deodhar, there was a buzz that the show was going off-air. In fact, we were even told that the curtains were going to come down on the drama. But suddenly, the channel is shifting the show to the 9 pm slot from December 25. In its 8.30 pm slot, the new show Kulvaddhu will air from the same day. The channel does not want to air a new show that will clash with KBC 3. It is a wait-and-watch move for now. It is better to give Ek Ladki an extension for a few more months than introduce a new series."

According to Sandiip Sikcand, Sony's chief creative director, "Aisa Des Hai Mera has had its stipulated episode run as per the contract. With new actors joining Ek Ladki, the show will get an added impetus. Taking this into consideration and a major twist to the drama's plot, we have decided to shift it to the 9 pm slot."

'We're aware'

Meanwhile, Aisa Des producer Manish Goswami says, "The last episode of Aisa Des airs on December 21. But we have already started work on a new concept given to us by the channel. This should be on air soon."

Gaurav Chopraa, who plays Samay in Aisa Des, says, "For the last 20 days, there have been a lot of deliberations and the entire cast and crew is aware of this. We've been told that talks are on and that the show might go off air if it is not given an extension. It's not like we've been kept in the dark about the fate of the show."

Meanwhile, Sony's next move will be decided depending on what impact SRK has in his new role as anchor along with the Computerji. KBC 3 is slated to air from January 2007.

http://www.mid-day.com/hitlist/2006/december/147882.htm

Shah Rukh Khan in the hot seat

Tuesday, December 5, 2006: (Mumbai):



Shah Rukh Khan, is the new face of Kaun Banega Crorepati and already the big B seems to be all but forgotten by his fickle audience.

The new quizmaster has arrived and has hit both metros in barely 24 hours.

In Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon at an hour long press conference the badshah fielded a volley of questions ranging from the expected.

When he faced this question: Suppose a girl comes to your show and swoons [what will you do]?

Khan replied, "I will take her in my arms and sing "tuje dekha to yeh jana sanam."

Replying to a question "will you smoke on the hot seat"? Khan said, "well, that's rather controversial."

On comparison with the Big B, Khan said Big B is the ultimate.

Explaining how he manages his activities, films, television, interviews and so on, he said, "I love my job, so I never get tired".

http://www.ndtvmovies.com/newstory.asp?section=Movies&id=573 4

'I hope I don't pull KBC down'



Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who succeeds Amitabh Bachchan as the new host of STAR Plus' highly popular game show "Kaun Banega Crorepati", said Monday he would try to bring his personality into the show even while making sure it did not lose its earlier appeal.

"It's very special for me because I am going to host such a beautiful show," Khan said at a press conference here. He was named to host the show last week in place of Bachchan who steered the show from 2000 for two seasons.

"It is very, very close to my heart like to the millions and billions of people in the country. It is smart, classy, cool and hopefully I will not bring it down and keep it as it was earlier," Shah Rukh said. The show goes on air in January next year.

To a question, he said: "The show has a set format. In fact, it has an international format. And I hope, I will bring my personality into it. Undoubtedly, the current popularity of the show is due to Mr. Bachchan and I hope I maintain that."

"I am honoured that Sameer Nair (CEO STAR Entertainment India) and Siddharth Basu (quiz master) thought that I am good enough to join the show."

"The second part of my happiness is that I am being able to do it in my city of joy, that is New Delhi. I am also very happy that once again I am coming back on television from where I started my career."

Commenting upon the format of the show he said: "We will surely present it in a new way. There would be something new in the show. You will find changes in the format.

Technically also we have moved ahead - like the number of phone calls and SMSes have gone up. As far as the actual creativeness is concerned, we will start working on it now."

Nair, who was present at the conference, said that KBC was the most important show of STAR because it had boosted its ratings and catapulted it to No. 3 from No. 7.

"We have signed a fresh contract and now KBC will be on air till 2012, but it is going to be a seasonal thing. We will have 52 to 60 episodes per calendar year," said Nair.

Nair said he was confident that Shah Rukh Khan would take the show on the road to success.

"When Amitabh Bachchan declined the offer we thought Shah Rukh is the only person to carry it further. We are thankful to him for accepting the challenge."

Basu was equally confident about Shah Rukh, and said: "Shah Rukh is classy, charming and smart. He is one of the most entertaining actors. He is going to be superb on the show because he has got the wit and intelligence."

The show will be telecast four days a week - Monday to Thursday.

http://www.santabanta.com/cinema.asp?pid=12720

Shah Rukh measures his IQ level

And we're talking about his Intimacy Quotient with Amitabh Bachchan here…

It was evident from his body language, that Shah Rukh Khan has been affected by the constant scrutiny of his not-so-good relationship with Amitabh Bachchan. But he made it a point to clear the air about their relationship, while addressing the media yesterday, about the second season of Star's Kaun Banega Crorepati, which he will be hosting.

"I never talk to Amitabh Bachchan casually. You cannot expect me to say, 'Arre Amit tumne suna main KBC kar raha hoon!' (Hey Amit, have you heard that I'm hosting KBC!) I cannot adopt such a casual approach with Mr Bachchan. Whenever I am with Amitabh Bachchan, I am formal and I give him due respect. He is a father figure and I would not like to be pompous or casual with him," said Shah Rukh.

Needless to say, the SRK humour was intact as he did not seem to be bothered by the comparison which people drew between the two. "I think it started from Don and it's obvious that people will compare us. But I have always said that I will try and be myself on the show. I guess people would love to see something original," he said.

When asked why the channel had changed the background colour of KBC from blue to red, SRK came up with his own witty interpretation. "Amitabh Bachchan is like a stalwart, he like the sky, so they used blue for him. Aur mein is dhaarti ka laal hoon, (I am a son of the soil) so they have used red for me," he smiled.

SRK also spoke about the educative and entertaining aspect of the show. "I am sure that my kids and everyone in and around India will watch the show, like they used to earlier, because the show is not just about earning money, it's a way to sharpen your IQ level too," he said.

On the Bollywood front, Shah Rukh has just completed shooting for Shimit Amin's Chak De in Australia. "It's about the Indian hockey team and I am proud to be associated with a film which deals with our national sport," he said.
Now, with KBC, won't his film assignments get affected? "Thankfully, I won't be working on KBC for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," he laughed. "I have my film assignments and I intend keeping a proper balance. I am yet to sit with Siddharth and rehearse for the show."

From being an inaccessible star, with the show Shah Rukh will be in everyone's home through television from Monday to Friday. Will that affect his stardom? "I think as long as I enjoy doing my work, I will never get bored of anything and by the grace of God my stardom will not be affected. I love interacting with people and that's the USP of this show," he said.

And how will he spend New Year's eve this year? "I think Siddharth (Basu)will teach me how to operate 'computerji' and Samir (Nair) will teach me how to sit on the hot seat. Jokes apart, I think I will be with my family, my wife Gauri and my kids. I think it's important to be with your family on such days," he said.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=articleid =30&contentid=20061206040442109b43735e0

ENow Special: The KBC story

Tuesday, December 05, 2006 03:01:29 pm


Just when the Hindi film industry was recovering from Hrithik Roshan's Rs 35 crore-for-three-films-deal with Adlabs, here comes something that makes it pale in comparison. The mother of all deals – Shahrukh Khan's two year contract to host the mother of all TV shows- 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'!

The grapevine is in a tizzy as figures get thrown around – With regard to Khan's asking fee, the buzz is anywhere in the region of Rs 75 lakhs to Rs 2 crore per episode, though a more realistic estimate would be about Rs 50 to 60 lakh per episode.

Khan is contracted to do two seasons of 52 episodes each- Do your math then, and also figure that in pure money value, SRK is now the industry's biggest brand, leaving the rest with a lot of catching up to - which may have been the point of the exercise!

A "household name"

"There's no doubt that Shah Rukh is the highest paid because not only is he a big brand name, he's practically become a household name," opines Amod Mehra, trade analyst.

"The next bet is Hrithik Roshan, he's been signed for a huge amount by Adlabs. They want to corner stars, there's a boom in the industry, and they want to corner the best talent, but the ball started rolling only after SRK was paid a very heavy price for 'Don'," adds Mehra.

Secret rivals?

The Big B, who for many is synonymous with the show, reportedly earned over Rs 100 crore for the 300-odd episodes that he did. And the whisper campaign is that SRK's first pre-condition of negotiation was that he needed to be offered double of whatever Mr Bachchan made on the show.

But since there is no way that can be confirmed, we'll leave it at that – a whisper, and also leave you to wonder if there just might be something to all the stories of the Bachchan-Khan upmanship battles!

More gossip, please

For Star Plus, which decided on Shahrukh Khan the minute Amitabh Bachchan said he could no longer do the show, all the speculation is good for keeping the interest going in the 2007 re-launch of the show.

"Having got Mr Bachchan and now Shahrukh Khan, there's a huge interest level obviously. There will be the inevitable comparisons, all the opinion polls will ask who will be the better one - and all of that adds to the hype of the show in general. Half the people will be saying that he (Shahrukh) is going to be much cuter, better, while the other half will say he can never have the bearing and stature of Mr B. So, as they say - love me or hate me, don't ignore me," says Sameer Nair, CEO of Star Entertainment India.

What the viewer ordered
Shahrukh Khan with Sidharth Basu at the press conference announcing the actor new avatar as KBC host

Ignoring KBC can never be on the cards. In season three, this block buster show will go back to a weekday format – Monday to Thursday, 9 to 10 pm. The prize money remains Rs 2 crore, but the producers – Sidharth Basu's Synergy Communications - realise that there is a huge difference between the TV audience of 2000 - when the show first launched - and now , when an audience may just find no novelty factor in the format!

"KBC is a quiz show which is built around the drama of an ordinary person... That is the fundamental drama of KBC, it has worked in over 100 countries all over the world, it's still running in some countries, wherever it's run it's been number one at some point or the other - and now with a new host it has a new lease of life, so I expect it to have a life of it's own, to be perfectly valid and have a very strong appeal despite whatever waves of family soaps and reality shows and what have you," says Sidharth Basu.

Will Brand SRK work?

But for now, SRK and the show will have to focus on a breakneck schedule to get the show going early next year – which will mean shooting for two episodes a day for an initial run of 52 episodes!

We think that SRK could also do some thinking about the fact that, while the Big B made the small screen respectable for film stars, no one but him actually made it big on the small screen. Remember Govinda, Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor's television attempts? You don't? Precisely.

As of now though, there seems to be a fair amount of interest in SRK's KBC.

"I'll watch initially, but let's see how the show shapes up," said a viewer to ENow.

So will SRK recreate the magic of Big B? We can only pass judgement on that when we see for ourselves!

(Story by Entertainment NOW. For more, tune into TIMES NOW Weekend, Saturday at 9:30 pm and Sunday at 10:30 am)

http://www.timesnow.tv/entnow/articleshow/716277.cms